Completion of the Initial Critical Operations Phase of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Spacecraft
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Today, on October 21, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the critical sequence during the initial operations of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, which launched on October 20, was successfully completed and that the spacecraft is in good health. This marks the completion of the initial critical operations phase (*1).
JAXA will now conduct initial functional checks of the spacecraft’s onboard equipment while preparing for the outbound cruise operations phase toward the Martian system.
JAXA expresses its deepest gratitude to all those who provided cooperation and support for the launch, tracking, and control of the MMX spacecraft.
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(*1)
Initial critical operations phase
The period following the spacecraft’s separation from the launch vehicle until the completion of a series of operations to establish spacecraft health, including deployment of the solar array paddles, establishment of three-axis attitude control, and release of the medium-gain antenna (MGA) hold-down mechanism.